Rail-joint.



UMTED sri-iras PATENT 'ernten'.

rnalicrscus 'B'. MARRIOTT, or HoMEwooD,' ALaBAMA. l

n nAmJoINT.

1,061,621. specification of Letters Patent. Patented May 1 3, 1913,

. j Application mea March 11,1913. serial No; 753,542. i

new and useful Improvements in Raih" Joints, of .which the following isa speciicaf tion.

My invention relates to rail joints, and more particularly to that typeknown as scarf joints, in which the4 rail ends are specially formed so.as to interlock.

The object of the invention is to provide a jointzwhich shall 'be'absolutely safe and 1igid,-not liable to become loose, and 1n whichrtheuse of splice bars, bolts, etc., with all their attendant uncertaintyshall be ens. tirely eliminated.

A further object is to provide a joint of this'v character which can hereadily uncoupled when desired, and in which the rails can vbe movedlaterallyto disconnect the Sil-m8. To this end, the invention consistsin the construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described, andillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation' of my complete'rail joint, hidden partsbeing shown in dotted lines; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the end ofone 'of the rails; Fig. 3 is a similar view of the end of the otherrail; Fig. 4 isa transverse central section through the complete joint;Figs. 5 and are perspective views of sections of a locking blockhereinafter describedyFig. 7 is aside elevation similar to Fig. 1 butshowing a slightlyA modified -constmction Fig. 8 is a by'the etters Aand B transverse .section through the modification shown inf'F'g. 7;FiOnSNS'a side elevation .showing a till furtlier modified arrangement;arid,` Fig. 10 is a'transverse section throu h. the joint shown in Fig.9.

Re erring to the drawings in detail, the meetin en s of the two railsare designated respectively. Each rail comprises the usual head 1, web4, and

'base Ilan e 5, andthe web of each is prefer- 'ably thic ened adjacentthe end until it is' flush with-the sides of the head, as indicated at3. The thickened web of rail A is cut away between the head and base toform a horizontally extending slot C, below which is "the base 7. In.this base 7 is formed a pocket 8 which extends downwardly from the slot6 to a comparatively shallow depth, as shown in Fig. 4. in the undersideof the head 1 of rail A is formed a lono'itudinally extending groove 2which lies-d1rectly over the pocket 8, and is of substantially the samewidth. I

Projecting outwardly from the rail B is y .a tongue 9 which is of such'thickness .as to".

just fit intothe slot 6, formed between the head and base of the lrailA.Above and below the, tongue 9 are shoulders 10 andll,

, adapted to abut respectively with the ends Adapted tofit-"looselyinfthe opening 12,

groove 2', and vpocket v8, is alocking block preferably formed of twosections -14v and 16. The section14 is adapted to fit entirely withinthe opening 12,A and Athe section 16 has a central portion 16a whichalso fits within the opening '12 and rests upon the upper ed e of thesection 14, as clearly shown in ig. 4, The section 16 is cut away ateach end'to form shoulders 16h and 16, which are adapted to rest uponthe upper surface of tongue 9, at each end of the opening 12.

In assembling the joint, the section: 14 is placed in the opening 12,which it just tits, while the section 16 is placed in the` groove 2 andtemporarily held there by any suitable means. The ton e 9 is now'inserted'. in the slot 6, by either a lateral or longitudinal movementAof the rails. l As soon asthe rails are brought partially together, thesections 14 and 16 will be held in place during the remainder of themovemeut. Finally, when the parts are brought into the position shown inFig. 1, in which the opening 12 exactly-registers with the groove. 2 andpocket '8, fthe lockingblock will fall by gravity into the position indicated in dotted lines. I In this position the lower section 14 liespartially in the pocket 8'and partially inthe opening 12, thusformving arigid connectionbetween the tongue 9 and base -7, while the-upper'vsection 16 lies partially inthe opening 12 and partially in'thegroove 2, thus locking the head l and tongue 9 rigidly together.

In order that the rails may'be separated when desired,I provide meansfor lifting tion. ',10 this end, the lower sectior 14.

' will have cleared the opening 12, and will lie wholly in the groove-2,so that the rails tongue 9, I accomplish the rigid locking of y Figs. 7and 8. With thisarran ement, of

a boltless joint, thel essential feature of with a projecting tongueadapted to fit into the locking block slipping on one another as thelateral movement vtakes place. It will and, at the same time, permit therails to .be separated laterally. e

apart,l I provide a locking block .17 of' a -sults in anfexceptionallysolid and rigid What I claim is:

thev loclniig block` out olf-its operative posiformed with. an openingor pocket l5 in the side thereof, and an opening 13 is provided in theside of the tongue .9, so locatedas to register with the opening 15. Itwill therefore lbe seen that by inserting a k?, or any poin'tedinstrument, such as a pic 15, both sections of the lockingblock mayliftedclear of pocket 8, the upper section A' and B can. be movedlaterally relative to each other, the upperand lower sections. of

therefore 'be.apparent, that by constructing the lockingbljockv in twosectionsy and providing means for lifting it until the divid` ing linebetween the sections coincides with the dividing line between the head'l and both the head and base sections of rail A In some instances, itmay be found unnecessary to lockboth the head and base portions of railA to thetongue 9, and in such cases I omit the groove 2 and formthe'head portion solid, as indicated at 1 in course, the upper section16 of t e locking block is omitted, and an extremely simple constructionresults.

Where it is desired .to connect the rails in such a manner that theycannot betaken width equal tothe combined widths of secons 14 and16,'butmade injone solid piece. When using such a block the rails haveto bev united by moving themv lon'tudinally together, and when so unitedit s 'obvious that t ey cannot be disconnected laterally. In thisconstruction, I omit the open' g's 13 and 15 sfo that the block 17.cannot be lifted. It will thus be seen that I have provided .which isan incl'osed locking block which falls by'gravity into operative'position, 'and which,l owing to the massivehess of the parts and theabutting shoulders 1.0 and l2, re-

construction.

1. In a railjoint, the combination of two abutting rail ends, the web ofone rail being cutaway to form a horizontally extending slot between thehead and base thereoil?,- and the end of the other rail being providedsaid slot, said tongue having 'a vertically A poc et, and means Aforliftin ,through into said pocket and thus lock said fails together whenthe opening in the tongue Iis brought into registry with. said pocket.

2. In a rail joint, the combination of-two abutting't railends, the webof -one rail be- 7 5 ing cut away toform4 a horizontally extendi ingslot between the head andbase thereof, and the end of the other railbeing provided with a' projecting tonguezadapted to fit inytd 'saidslot, said tongue having a vertically d1s` 80 posed opening extendingtherethrough, the base of said -first mentioned rail below the slothaving a pocket extending downwardly ther-cinto, and the head of -suchrail having a` groove extending along the under side 85 thereof directlyA'over said pocket, and Va block loosely tting into theopening in saidtongue, and adapted to drop artlally, therethrough into said ,pocket wensaid opening'and pocketare brought into reg- 90 isti-y, and thus lockthe Arails together', saidblock being divided horizontally to'form upperand lower sections, the upper section, when in locking position, lyingpartially in saidpocket, and partially in said. oove, and means forliftin saidulower section out ofsaid4 pocket, and orcing said uppersection wholly into said groove so thatlsaid tongue may be slippedlaterally out of said slot, and the -rails thus disconnected.

3. In a rail joint, the combination of two abutting rail ends, the web'of one rail being. cut away to form a horizontally 4extendin ,slotl.between the .head and base thereo and the end of thel other railbeingprovided with a projecting tongue adapted to fit into saidslot, saidtongue having' a ver# tically disposed opening extending therethrough,and the base. of said first mentioned rail having a pocket extendingdownwardly thereinto from the said slot, and a block loosely fittingint)the opening in said tongue, and 'adapted to drop partially'therethroughinto said ocket and thuslock 'said' 4'rails together .w en. .the openingin the'115 ton? e is broughtfinto registry with said said; block out ofsaid ocket so that sai rails may be separated) by a relative lateralmovement.

In testimony whereof I have aiixed my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

FRANCISCUS B. MARRIOTT.l

. Witnesses:

D. D. Comi, I. L. Non'rnnor.

entre: z um sans my u bwa-ea mav au mh, by addressing en chaman u hun,

